Reels, Notes & Takes: Week 8

There’s no better place to keep a finger on the pulse of arts and entertainment happenings than Los Angeles. The A&E world is alive – it’s always buzzing, sometimes ready to implode with a hint of a surprise album or a celebrity’s controversial statement. Each week, the Daily Bruin A&E editors will discuss their views on recent topics and trends in pop culture.

EXO and ‘Star Wars’

I don’t know what I expected when my friend told me to watch K-pop boy group EXO take on an interpretation of the upcoming “Star Wars” film in a music video. At the very least, I expected less sultry expressions and more lightsaber dueling, especially in a track named “Lightsaber.”

A collaboration between the Korean arm of Walt Disney Enterprises and S.M. Entertainment, EXO’s record label, suggests there’s room for fresh interpretation of the franchise.

The problem is there aren’t enough solid references to bring “Star Wars” to mind. Instead of using sets and costumes from the franchise, the video is filmed in hotel sets straight from “Inception” and contains motorcycle scenes more reminiscent of “Tron.”

Even when there are obvious references, like retracted lightsabers and a flashing neon sign that reads “Jedi Only,” they aren’t prominent. Instead, the focus on making the EXO members look pretty made me think S.M. Entertainment decided to use the opportunity to promote the group rather than the critically acclaimed franchise.

I’m disappointed that the opportunity to reimagine “Star Wars” was squandered. Here’s hoping the next potential EXO-”Star Wars” collaborations aren’t so bad.

– Shreya Aiyar

Val Kilmer jumped the “Top Gun”

I feel the need … the need for clarification.

On Monday actor Val Kilmer, famous for playing Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in 1986’s “Top Gun,” sensationally announced on his Facebook page that he’d agreed to star in “Top Gun 2.”

The post led fans across the country to momentarily dream of Tom Cruise mounting his Kawasaki GPZ900R motorcycle once again, donning his leather bomber jacket and aviator sunglasses.

However, Kilmer soon brought them nose-diving back to reality when he published an edited version of the post on Tuesday.

The original post seemed to claim not only that Cruise would be reprising his role alongside Kilmer, but that Gene Hackman was also set to star with Francis Ford Coppola directing. However, Kilmer reined back on this announcement by explaining that he was merely listing actors and directors he’d be forced to say “yes” to, if they ever asked to work with him. They weren’t in fact associated with the project – Kilmer was merely talking about a hypothetical situation.

He went on to clarify in his edited post that being offered a role is different from doing a role, imploring people to calm down, and that the movie is a long way off.

Despite Kilmer’s apology for the misunderstanding, fans of the original film might not be so likely to calm down.

It’s like a little boy being promised a Nerf gun for Christmas and then opening his present to discover just the darts. Anything less than Cruise and Coppola, and Kilmer’s sequel could be set for an emergency landing.

– William Thorne

Artist instinctively pens Paris peace symbol

In times of tragedy, art captures emotions that cannot be described in words.

After hearing about the shootings and bombings across Paris Friday, professional illustrator Jean Jullien said he instinctively created a simplistic piece of art: a painting of a peace symbol with the Eiffel Tower superimposed over the vertical axis. Created with black brush strokes in a sketchbook, the drawing has become a worldwide symbol of solidarity with France.

His original post now has over 168,000 likes on Instagram and almost 60,000 retweets. The famous emblem has blazed across social media profile pictures and appeared on celebrities’ pages, including those of Harry Styles, Kim Kardashian and John Legend. Jullien said his first reaction was to draw a symbol of peace for Paris, and he did not mean to capitalize on people’s sadness.

“I draw. That is my way of expressing myself,” Jullien said. “It was a very raw, spontaneous reaction.”

The image is beautiful – simple and classic by incorporating two universally recognizable symbols. I was amazed I’d never seen this token drawn before, but it’ll now be remembered as a powerful image against terrorism.

So while nothing can truly capture the horror that befell the French Friday, the Peace for Paris sign is arguably already the most iconic piece of art this year.

– Lindsay Weinberg

Aziz Ansari is not a “Master of None”

I’m not much of a television show person. Because of my impatience, I rarely take the initiative to follow new series and, when I do, I often easily get tired and ditch the show.

But Aziz Ansari’s comedy television series “Master of None,” released Nov. 6 on Netflix, is one of the shows that has held my fragile attention. It is, despite its title, a masterful work by Ansari with content that is all too real.

In the series, Ansari stars as Dev, a 30-year-old struggling actor trying to make it into the world of television in New York City.

Writer and director Ansari tackles heavy subjects like racial representation in film and television and sexism. As the leading actor, he injects an appropriate dose of humor in telling the excruciating truths that some people are ignorant of the experiences of women and stereotype people of color.

The show is insightful. Clips of white actors wearing brownface to portray Indian actors from real shows and films juxtapose Dev being asked to audition with a stereotypical Indian accent by a casting director.

The show is knowing. Ansari keeps it real by portraying Dev and his male friends’ denial upon hearing their friends Rachel and Denise’ frightening incidents with men. Finding familiarity, I chuckled under my breath. My friend muttered, “That’s happened to me before.”

It’s relieving that a show as delightful and real as “Master of None” exists. Another thing also amazes me: Ansari is a director, actor, writer and author. He is clearly not a “master of none.”

– Gail Acosta